Crimson Rose

by R. Malone

The last few years have not been kind to Rose. She has lost her husband and is currently residing with an abusive boyfriend. Furthermore, an enigmatic but very handsome man is stalking her. Ultimately, she finds that he is a supernatural being from heaven; or perhaps he has emerged from the depths of hell. Regardless, from his pointed teeth to his blood-kissed lips, Stefan is indeed a vampire, a creature Rose once thought only existed in folklore. He has emerged from the sinister darkness and come to claim her as his own. Stefan Hansen has seen the very worst of mankind. Before his transitioning, he had endured the horrors of World War II and the violent loss of his Jewish love. Thinking that the past was dead, he could not have been more wrong. And an apparition from his past was scheming to prove it with destructive intentions.

250 pages

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Just an author who loves to write about hot villains and studly heroes. :)

I never met an adverb that I didn't like either, so take that, Stephen King!

I live in Texas with my beautiful husband and three wonderful daughters. We live on a few acres of countryside property, in which the exterior view from the rear doors certainly help with the inspiration to write.

Reviews

[Cyndy Otty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crimson Rose is one of those tragic books for me; one that I desperately tried to enjoy far more than I did. This is no doubt at least partially due to the author's generous gift of a free copy and only serves to make me feel that my lack of enthusiasm regarding the book is downright cruel. Not to say that it is essentially a terrible novel because it really isn't; Malone's crafted world manages to put a surprisingly fresh spin on a mythos that's been explored by countless others. Her characters are, for the most part, full of wonder and spark much interest in a reader. The story itself is especially intoxicating. The downfall for me is that try as I might, I could not get beyond the editorial problems within the book and these truly hindered my personal enjoyment.

The narrative of this novel starts off maddeningly slow and once it does get off the ground it comes off as a soap opera which only served to distance me from the events transpiring. It made it very hard to take anything seriously as the plot unfolded because I felt so alienated from the story due to my own distaste for the often clichéd dialogue, cheesy situations, and completely random plot twists that put the story in a totally different direction. Except the amusing thing is that this very set of issues is what kept me reading! Like an unwilling witness to a train wreck, the more out of place things became the more I felt compelled to continue. Regardless of the fact that I felt somewhat bombarded by the author’s obnoxiously frequent issue with word usage – or more accurately over usage. Many scenes that had the potential to be poignant or dynamic felt clumsy due to the repetitive nature of the vocabulary used. Moreover, and perhaps I’m being too nitpicky, I also was disappointed in the lack of scene-setting or descriptiveness. It isn’t until very late in the book that any real explanation is given for the environment the characters are in rather than an adjective or two.

Aside from the specifics of the storytelling, the stumbling block for me was the characterization or lack thereof in some cases. Often I found myself completely bewildered by Rose as she was thrust into various situations; I found myself anticipating a severe emotional reaction where instead she would take things perfectly in stride. Her world is turned upside-down time and again, her beliefs challenged repeatedly and through it all she steadfastly remains convinced of a seemingly impossible truth that Stefan is the perfect man for her. Meanwhile, Stefan himself is a complete enigma for me. Throughout the novel he showcases his ruthless and callous attitude and by the end he is basically redeemed without any evident changes to his core being. It feels hollow and forced to me and makes it difficult to maintain any semblance of interest in Rose’s choice to be with him.

Yet, for all of its shortcomings, I can't entirely dislike this book. Malone truly does have a talent for building a complex and engaging story and has certainly created a unique enough world to capture the interest of a paranormal/urban fantasy fan. While, I was disappointed in the execution, I found myself deeply invested in the story and truly curious to see how the events would unfold. Still, the sad fact is, I sincerely believe this book could have used some further polishing before being published.

[Originally posted at my website.]

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't really know where to begin. I thought this book was going to be sweet and romantic, but it wasn't. I had a hard time getting through it, the hero and the heroine in this book made me want to scream. I don't understand how a woman can be raped, not once but multiple times, giving her two children with the man and deciding that she is going to stay with him because somewhere in the middle of all the rape and holding her prisoner she fell in love. How disgusting. Then you have the man, aka the rapist, who starts to stalk this woman because she looks like a woman from his past. Thus, he believes that he is inlove with her because of it. Give me a break. I usually don't get two whoops if I don't agree with a book, but the content in this book is just to much for me. Now, that I have gotten that off my chest. I feel as though I can breathe a little better.

[Peace Love and Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! what a remarkable story!!! This book is so hard to put down, the moment the vampire Stefan kidnapped Rose, I was intrigued on what will happen next. Most vampire books that I've read, only gave you a brief history of the resident vampire and most author's gradually inserts their history through out the series. Not in Malone's Crimson Rose, in here she took me to Stefan's past, an extensive history, his human past. From his first ever love Eva Bauer, to the crimes that he has forcefully commited as a Nazi soldier to the end of his human life bestowed upon by his former friend Miles and how he lived savagely after that, giving himself to the bloodlust. His history reeks of heartbreak and injustice.

A century later he found another love in the breathing feature of Rose. An enigmatic, strong and likeable woman with a lovely son named Jacob, but seems to have such questionable taste in men. After Rose's husband died/murdered she met the abusive Shane. Not long after that, Stefan started REALLY persuing her and fell in love with him despite the shocking transgression. Their story was quite unconventional, it is dark, disturbing and totally opposite of the fluttering butterflies in my stomach reaction that I get when reading a human - vampire melodrama. Stefan is brusque, forceful, possessive, dangerous and seriously twisted. Yet he did everything because he love Rose? Since I am only human (LOL) part of me felt Rose's fears, (carried away much?) His methods are quite appalling yet eerily romantic, as much as I would like to divulge the information in details the twist of the whole plot and the exqusite shocking of discovery will totally kill it for you guys. You simply must read to know exactly what I'm saying.

I wish that I have not read this twice as fast because now I would have to lay in wait for the next book. Thank you so much Robin Malone for giving me the pleasure of reading and reviewing your book.

[Tabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

The novel contained an immersive and beautiful tale in which love was found in the darkest of times, and reflected circumstances in real life, such as overcoming inner demons to better one's life and learn to love again.

Although Crimson Rose was not perfect, I still believe that it deserves 5 stars. The reason I say it was not perfect is due to some rather disturbing content in some portions of the story; however, any such content was very brief.

[Kathleen Daneshyar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished reading this passionate book, on Valentine's Day, about a vampire and the women he loves. The title is very fitting to this special day. R. Malone transitions each section making you want to read more. This is my first read about a vampire - is a good adult read.

[Shalonda Williams-Lynard]

Something about this one.

[Patricia Babcock · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm on page 63 of this book and it is a struggle to read. The main characters are not in the least bit likeable. The vampire, Stefan Hansen, is not in the least bit sexy - he comes off as stiff and kind of like a 16 year old boy who doesn't know what to do with a girl - kind of fumbling around trying to be sexy but it's just irritating. The heroine, Rose, well I just want to slap her. I feel guilty saying all this because I won the book on this site, but I gotta be honest. The other thing that bothers me is the writing. The author sentences are overly dramatic, i.e., "The dark and towering outline of a man ominously greeted her vision, as his moderately long fingernails tapped against the glass in a teasing manner." After about 40 of these sentences, I was rolling my eyes and it's so hard to read while your eyes are rolling around in your head. I'm putting it aside for now. Maybe I'll get back to it in the future.

[Truly_wished · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had hope, the premise looked good and I heard from others that it was original and a good read. Unfortunately, after borrowing it from my friend, I can't agree. I also canceled my order for it because I can't stand to pay good money for this. The dialog was cliche at best, the situations were weak, and um, there was nothing about rape in the warnings section. Forceful seduction or whatever else you want to call it, not wanting sex makes it rape and handing over the children that were products of that rape, to the rapist no less, is just ridiculous.

[Sfchick · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome urban fantasy book!!

[Lovesgreatbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

R. Malone is a wonderful new author in the genre of vampire romance. I loved it.

[Gmalloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fabulous book. Different from Twilight, but variety is the spice of life, as they say.

[Lynette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what an incredible book!!! So much different than any other PR books. Reminded me a bit of Anne Rice's style. I loved it.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book rocked!!!! A nice change from the same old, same old vampire romance. The characters were original, along with the storyline. It was awesome. :^]

[Shaina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only got a chapter in before I wanted to throw the book across the room.

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

A poorly written effort, the plot of this book is nothing new or exciting. The author's attempts at using an impressive vocabulary fall flat, with many synonyms being completely wrong for their context. The characterisation was poor at best, and some of the content dubious (a rape scene, which the author describes as "forced seduction").

All in all, there are better books out there in the genre.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

So glad I didn't spend money on this. I skimmed a bit of it because of all the wank the author caused by harassing people who left negative reviews and trying to inflate her review ratings. The writing is awful beyond description, which is not surprising considering this was published by a vanity press. Removing your eyes with a spoon would be more enjoyable than reading this book in its entirety.

[Ren · Rating 1 out of 5]

I felt that this novel deserved a full-on video review, so here it is. In it, I speak of my justifications for the one-star rating.


Long story short, as a serious piece of fiction, this fails pretty badly. However, view it as the book equivalent of "The Room," and you'll find it to be a most unintentionally hilarious piece of writing.

EDIT: Added link to full video review.

[Fiona · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got the book from Goodreads giveaway program. I was excited when I won it because I thought this book could be romantic and fluffy with the right amount of drama like the other vampire books I read. But the book is the total opposite. I had to skip parts because I just wanted to yell at the main characters.

I was frustrated with Rose for staying with her abusive boyfriend who also treated her son badly; for being raped, baring her rapist's children, handing the children over to the same man, and then deciding to stay with him. Is she that weak? I just could not understand it... Stefan, the other main character, crept me out. He's a stalker and rapist: totally not one you would except in romance series.

I was also not really impressed by the writing either: there were wrong word choices and too much use of adjectives.

[Lori · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought I was going to read a vampire story. For me this was more like a poem about colors. I couldn't get past the excessive, descriptive dissertations on what the color of everything in each setting during the book to understand what the story was about. I stopped reading it after 2 chapter.

[Renée]

I finished it, but this was just not to my taste.